Scripting International Power Dramas: A Model of Situational Predisposition

WithValerie M. Hudson

Numerous variants of the classic formulation have been offered by students of international relations to account for discrepancies in observed nation-state behavior. The give-and-take of international relations becomes a series of impression management policies, within which the trace of rational calculus can be found. Governments sort out problems according to their perception of the dramatic requirements of the situation at hand. Knowledge of the script of the power drama and the actor's role in the drama leads us to project the major properties of the actor's foreign policy behavior. The concept of "relational network" can be viewed as capturing the motivation of the actor in the dramatic scene and also the capabilities the actor possesses and can use in the scene. One may have to supplement measures of accuracy with other measures of conceptual validity or predictive utility.